les plaies cranio-encephaliques: Aspects epidemic-Cliniques et Therapeutiques a Dakar(Senegal)

Objectif Le but de cette étude était de montrer les aspects épidémio-cliniques des plaies crânio-encéphaliques et d’évaluer leur prise en charge dans un pays Africain tel le Sénégal.Introduction La plaie crânio-encéphalique est une solution de continuité de tous les plans de couverture séparant le parenchyme cérébral du milieu extérieur. L’infection devient alors la hantise et motive la rapidité de la prise en charge.Malades et méthodes Nous avons fait une étude rétrospective de 14 dossiers colligés de janvier 2006 à janvier 2008. Tous les patients ont été admis au service d’urgence ont été évalué cliniquement par le score de Glasgow et un examen neurologique complet. Ils ont bénéficié d’un scanner cérébral avant une prise en charge médicale et chirurgicale. Ils ont été suivis sur une durée moyenne de 17 mois.Résultats L’âge moyen de nos patients était de 30 ans, avec une prédominance masculine 11cas. La principale cause était les accidents de la voie publique (8cas) suivi par les agressions (4cas). Le délai moyen avant l’hospitalisation était de 24 heures et le délai moyen de prise en charge chirurgicale était de 57 heures ; la majorité des patients avaient un bon état de conscience selon l’échelle de GLASGOW 6 cas (15 - 13) et 4 cas (12 - 9). Le scanner cérébral a permis de montrer les lésions osseuses et intra parenchymateuses : 12 cas de contusions, sept cas de pneumencéphalie, cinq cas d’hématome sous dural et 1un cas de présence de corps étranger. La prise en charge thérapeutique comportait un volet médical et un autre chirurgical (craniectomie, reconstruction de la dure mère et de la peau). La durée moyenne d’hospitalisation était de 12 jours L’évolution post opératoire immédiate était excellente était dans 12 cas. Un patient était décédé et un autre avait gardé une hémiparésie. Conclusion Les plaies crânio-encéphaliques constituent une entité neuro-traumatique assez fréquente dont la principale complication est l’infection méningée. Une prise en charge précoce avec parage et antibioprophylaxie permettraient d’obtenir des résultats satisfaisants surtout en Afrique

Fractures de hangman : a propos de cinq cas

Objectifs l’absence de consensus dans le traitement des fractures de Hangman complique la prise en charge. L’objectif de cette étude était de proposer différentes méthodes thérapeutiques accessibles toutes dans les conditions de travail d’un pays à revenu faible. Introduction Le fracture de Hangman ou fracture bipédiculaire de l’axis pose le problème de codification de sa prise en charge (traitement conservateur ou chirurgie). Nous exposons nos résultats à travers cinq dossiers de patients opérer à la lumière des données de la littérature. Patients et méthode Il s’agissait d’une étude rétrospective portant sur cinq patients admis en urgence entre janvier 2006 et décembre 2008 et opérés pour quatre d’entre eux après examen clinique, bilan radiographique et cotation suivant la classification d’EFFENDI (avant et après chirurgie). Le suivi s’est déroulé sur une période moyenne de 12 mois. Résultats Il s’agissait de cinq patients d’âge moyen de 34,6 ans (extrêmes de 22 et 54 ans), avec un sex ratio de 4, admis dans le service pour traumatisme du rachis cervical suite à un accident de la voie publique dans trois cas (dont une chute de charrette) et de travail dans deux cas. Leur symptomatologie était dominée par un syndrome rachidien cervical sans déficit neurologique. Ainsi quatre (04) patients ont subit une ostéosynthèse par voie postérieure selon différentes techniques dont une visée pédiculaire. Un patient a bénéficié d’un traitement orthopédique par minerve cervicale pendant 4 mois. Nous n’avons eu aucune complication à long terme. Conclusion Les « Hangman’s fracture » sont peu fréquentes. Leur traitement n’est pas encore codifié. Le traitement chirurgical est privilégié pour nous du fait des contraintes de port de minerve au long cours dans nos régions tropicales chaudes et humides.Mots-clés: hangman fracture, arthrodèse postérieure

In silico characterisation of putative Plasmodium falciparum vaccine candidates in African malaria populations.

Genetic diversity of surface exposed and stage specific Plasmodium falciparum immunogenic proteins pose a major roadblock to developing an effective malaria vaccine with broad and long-lasting immunity. We conducted a prospective genetic analysis of candidate antigens (msp1, ama1, rh5, eba175, glurp, celtos, csp, lsa3, Pfsea, trap, conserved chrom3, hyp9, hyp10, phistb, surfin8.2, and surfin14.1) for malaria vaccine development on 2375 P. falciparum sequences from 16 African countries. We described signatures of balancing selection inferred from positive values of Tajima's D for all antigens across all populations except for glurp. This could be as a result of immune selection on these antigens as positive Tajima's D values mapped to regions with putative immune epitopes. A less diverse phistb antigen was characterised with a transmembrane domain, glycophosphatidyl anchors between the N and C- terminals, and surface epitopes that could be targets of immune recognition. This study demonstrates the value of population genetic and immunoinformatic analysis for identifying and characterising new putative vaccine candidates towards improving strain transcending immunity, and vaccine efficacy across all endemic populations

Transcriptional Profiling in Pathogenic and Non-Pathogenic SIV Infections Reveals Significant Distinctions in Kinetics and Tissue Compartmentalization

Simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infection leads to AIDS in experimentally infected macaques, whereas natural reservoir hosts exhibit limited disease and pathology. It is, however, unclear how natural hosts can sustain high viral loads, comparable to those observed in the pathogenic model, without developing severe disease. We performed transcriptional profiling on lymph node, blood, and colon samples from African green monkeys (natural host model) and Asian pigtailed macaques (pathogenic model) to directly compare gene expression patterns during acute pathogenic versus non-pathogenic SIV infection. The majority of gene expression changes that were unique to either model were detected in the lymph nodes at the time of peak viral load. Results suggest a shift toward cellular stress pathways and Th1 profiles during pathogenic infection, with strong and sustained type I and II interferon responses. In contrast, a strong type I interferon response was initially induced during non-pathogenic infection but resolved after peak viral load. The natural host also exhibited controlled Th1 profiles and better preservation of overall cell homeostasis. This study identified gene expression patterns that are specific to disease susceptibility, tissue compartmentalization, and infection duration. These patterns provide a unique view of how host responses differ depending upon lentiviral infection outcome

Packages of Care for Epilepsy in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

In the second in a series of six articles on packages of care for mental health disorders in low- and middle-income countries, Caroline Mbuba and Charles Newton discuss treatment for epilepsy

Regional research priorities in brain and nervous system disorders

The characteristics of neurological, psychiatric, developmental and substance-use disorders in low-and middle-income countries are unique and the burden that they have will be different from country to country. Many of the differences are explained by the wide variation in population demographics and size, poverty, conflict, culture, land area and quality, and genetics. Neurological, psychiatric, developmental and substance-use disorders that result from, or are worsened by, a lack of adequate nutrition and infectious disease still afflict much of sub-Saharan Africa, although disorders related to increasing longevity, such as stroke, are on the rise. In the Middle East and North Africa, major depressive disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder are a primary concern because of the conflict-ridden environment. Consanguinity is a serious concern that leads to the high prevalence of recessive disorders in the Middle East and North Africa and possibly other regions. The burden of these disorders in Latin American and Asian countries largely surrounds stroke and vascular disease, dementia and lifestyle factors that are influenced by genetics. Although much knowledge has been gained over the past 10 years, the epidemiology of the conditions in low-and middle-income countries still needs more research. Prevention and treatments could be better informed with more longitudinal studies of risk factors. Challenges and opportunities for ameliorating nervous-system disorders can benefit from both local and regional research collaborations. The lack of resources and infrastructure for health-care and related research, both in terms of personnel and equipment, along with the stigma associated with the physical or behavioural manifestations of some disorders have hampered progress in understanding the disease burden and improving brain health. Individual countries, and regions within countries, have specific needs in terms of research priorities.Fil: Ravindranath, Vijayalakshmi. Indian Institute of Science; IndiaFil: Dang, Hoang Minh. Vietnam National University; VietnamFil: Goya, Rodolfo Gustavo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de La Plata ; ArgentinaFil: Mansour, Hader. University of Pittsburgh; Estados Unidos. Mansoura University; EgiptoFil: Nimgaonkar, Vishwajit L.. University of Pittsburgh; Estados UnidosFil: Russell, Vivienne Ann. University of Cape Town; SudáfricaFil: Xin, Yu. Peking University; Chin

Mitotic Spindle Proteomics in Chinese Hamster Ovary Cells

Mitosis is a fundamental process in the development of all organisms. The mitotic spindle guides the cell through mitosis as it mediates the segregation of chromosomes, the orientation of the cleavage furrow, and the progression of cell division. Birth defects and tissue-specific cancers often result from abnormalities in mitotic events. Here, we report a proteomic study of the mitotic spindle from Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells. Four different isolations of metaphase spindles were subjected to Multi-dimensional Protein Identification Technology (MudPIT) analysis and tandem mass spectrometry. We identified 1155 proteins and used Gene Ontology (GO) analysis to categorize proteins into cellular component groups. We then compared our data to the previously published CHO midbody proteome and identified proteins that are unique to the CHO spindle. Our data represent the first mitotic spindle proteome in CHO cells, which augments the list of mitotic spindle components from mammalian cells

Critical Loss of the Balance between Th17 and T Regulatory Cell Populations in Pathogenic SIV Infection

Chronic immune activation and progression to AIDS are observed after SIV infection in macaques but not in natural host primate species. To better understand this dichotomy, we compared acute pathogenic SIV infection in pigtailed macaques (PTs) to non-pathogenic infection in African green monkeys (AGMs). SIVagm-infected PTs, but not SIVagm-infected AGMs, rapidly developed systemic immune activation, marked and selective depletion of IL-17-secreting (Th17) cells, and loss of the balance between Th17 and T regulatory (Treg) cells in blood, lymphoid organs, and mucosal tissue. The loss of Th17 cells was found to be predictive of systemic and sustained T cell activation. Collectively, these data indicate that loss of the Th17 to Treg balance is related to SIV disease progression